1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to apparatus, systems, and methods for producing materials used to fill voids in containers and packages.
2. Description of Related Art
US Patent Application Pub. No. 20090258775 (also entitled “Apparatus, Systems and Methods for Producing Cushioning Material”), discloses a dunnage machine, or system, for use in producing cushioning material, and is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The system disclosed in that application comprises a motor that drives a plurality of forming members. Each of the forming members has fins for use in crumpling sheet material and pulling the sheet material through the system to form cushioning material.
As the forming members pull the sheet material from a feed system, each portion of the sheet material can pass through a funnel-like passageway with converging sidewalls before reaching the forming members. The sheet material can thus be fed to the system and be laterally folded, rolled or compressed as it passes through the funnel-like passageway to decrease a horizontal width of the sheet material. After being laterally folded, the sheet material reaches the forming members where it is vertically compressed or crumpled by passing between the horizontally aligned forming members, as the fins of the forming members impact the sheet material from above and below the sheet material. Cushioning product, or cushioning material, is thus generated.
Although forming members, such as those disclosed in US Pat. App. Pub, No. 20090258775, are effective in generating cushioning material, on some occasions, the cushioning material can “jam” or be caught near an outlet or exit region of the forming members. Without being bound by theory, it is believed that since the movement and configuration of the cushioning material has some random characteristics near the exit region of the forming members, in some circumstances, the cushioning material can momentarily accumulate at the exit region, which is a confined passageway. When such accumulation occurs, movement of further incoming cushioning material can be restricted, causing the cushioning material to pack and sometimes “jam.” In such cases, an operator typically releases the “jam” by manually removing the packed cushioning material from the exit region.
In addition, as cushioning material is generated and leaves the exit region of the dunnage machine, it can be cut to a desired length, either automatically or manually. One way in which the cushioning material can be cut is by mounting a blade near an exit region of the dunnage machine. An operator can grab an end of the cushioning material and force it across the fixed blade edge. Although such a fixed-blade cutter can, or leveraged manual cutters that move blades using manual force, can provide cost advantages over automated cutters operated by motors, physical exertion of the operator can contribute to fatigue.